556th MICO conducts multi

DVIDS – News – 556th MICO conducts multi-domain exercise

556th MICO conducts multi-domain exercise

FORT INDIANTOWN GAP, PENNSYLVANIA, UNITED STATES

08.05.2026

Story by Brad Rhen 

Joint Force Headquarters – Pennsylvania National Guard

FORT INDIANTOWN GAP, Pa. – Soldiers from the 556th Military Intelligence Co., 56th Mobile Brigade Combat Team conducted a multi-domain exercise Aug. 1 to 4 during their two-week annual training here

Named Operation Iron Synergy, the exercise’s focus was locating simulated enemy fighters through various military intelligence means and calling in strikes from unmanned aircraft systems

“What we’re trying to do is get the company used to large-scale multi-domain operations,” said Capt. Justin Glass, commander of the 556th MICO. “We’re trying to exercise every single intelligence discipline through one coordinated exercise.”

During the exercise, the company’s signal intelligence and electronic warfare collection teams intercepted simulated enemy communications. Once the enemy’s location was determined, the coordinates were sent to UAS teams

The UAS teams would then fly a UAS over the coordinates to confirm the enemy location, then fly a second UAS over and drop munitions on the enemy

Soldiers from Mike Co., 56th MBCT – the brigade’s multi-functional reconnaissance company – operated the UASs

“We have our collection teams out there conducting direction finding, and all that information is getting fed back here to the BICE (brigade intelligence element),” Glass said. “They’re working it, and then it’s getting sent over to UAS to work positive identification and go through the whole targeting process.”

A team of Soldiers from the National Guard Bureau at Fort Meade, Maryland, supported the exercise by providing signal emitters to send the simulated enemy communications

Warrant Officer 1 Brennan McHugh, signals intelligence technician for the 556th MICO, was tasked with programming the emitters with simulated enemy communications

“I am acting in a ‘white cell’ capacity, so I am orchestrating and coordinating various aspects of the exercise,” McHugh said. “I am programming and placing emitters that will simulate enemy communications and pieces of equipment and ensuring that the exercise is conducive for the signals intelligence Soldiers to do their job.”

The exercise provided the company with an opportunity to exercise the multi-domain operations, or MDO, concept, McHugh said

“We are integrating multiple different capabilities that we have here, to include human intelligence, signals intelligence, all-orted by the multi-functional reconnaissance company’s electronic warfare Soldiers,” McHugh said

The 556th MICO was activated earlier in 2026 as part of the 56th MBCT’s conversion from a Stryker brigade combat team to an MBCT. Most of the company’s Soldiers were previously part of the 103rd Brigade Engineer Battalion, which was deactivated in March

This was the company’s first major exercise since it was activated, Glass said

“We’re trying to figure out how we can support the brigade in its new formation as an MBCT,” Glass said. “We’re trying to become more mobile; we’re trying to decrease the time that it takes to emplace and displace from locations and increase our survivability.”

The exercise was the culminating event of the company’s two-week annual training, which Glass said went smoothly

“I got to see a lot of growth from the Soldiers,” Glass said. “They got a chance to get out in the field and work a lot of different tasks that they haven’t done since Basic Training. It was a good opportunity to get everyone out here working as a team, working through different challenges.”

PUBLIC DOMAIN  

This work, 556th MICO conducts multi-domain exercise, by Brad Rhen, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright

CONNECTED MEDIA

MORE LIKE THIS

CONTROLLED VOCABULARY KEYWORDS

No keywords found

Fort Indiantown Gap
drone
multi-domain operations
UAS
Pennsylvania National Guard

OPTIONS